The seven hostages including a man and six women are being held in safe houses which appear to be the residences of high ranking officials in the Green Zone area of Baghdad.
Very few people visit these safe houses and only a few of prime minister Nouri al-Maliki’s closest circle know of their existence, among whom are Lieutenant General Farough al-Araji, the head of Maliki’s military office, Faleh Fayaz, Maliki’s National Security Advisor and Mailki’s son, Ahmed who is responsible for the control of the safe houses.
Reports sent to the Iranian regime’s Supreme leader Ali Khamenei’s office by the regime’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security indicate that on numerous occasions the MOIS torturers have interrogated the hostages in the safe houses and sent their reports back to Tehran through the Iranian regime’s embassy in Baghdad.
The details of some of the locations where the seven hostages are being held have been provided to relevant officials at international level.
According to the reports, Nouri al-Maliki had intended to hand over the hostages to the Iranian regime prior to his visit to the US. However the campaign by supporters of the Iranian resistance during his US visit, and the strong reaction in the US House and Senate during the visit, made Mailki fear the consequences of such a measure, and for him to wait for an appropriate opportunity to either eliminate the hostages or hand them over to the Iranian regime.
The Iranian Resistance, once again re-emphasizes the responsibilities of the US government and the United Nations regarding the safety and security of the hostages who are Protected Persons under the Fourth Geneva Convention and who have the right to enjoy international protection as asylum seekers, and calls for immediate action to free the hostages and prevent their continued torture and extradition to eliminate them.
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
November 25, 2013